IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL 20 BUSINESS OF FARMING Saturday 6 July 2019
Eoin Lowry (01) 4199500 [email protected] AgriBusiness @FJAgribiz
Total assets €4bn Total profi t €182m Tax paid €4BN €290,000
Larry n the fi rst of a three-part investigative of the EU for large corporations. the organisation’s profi ts. These entities are Goodman’s series into the ABP Food Group, the Irish This transition to Luxembourg has allowed based in the Netherlands, Jersey, Ireland and business Farmers Journal reveals the extent of Lar- some visibility into the fi nancial performance the UK, and have combined assets of €1.2bn. empire ry Goodman’s fi nancial wealth. and structure above the ABP Group and the For 2018, these companies reported combined Larry Goodman’s business and invest- profi tability of Goodman’s investments. Ac- profi ts of just under €89m. ment empire is valued at close to €4bn. An counts for these companies in Luxembourg I What is the Goodman group? in-depth investigation carried out by the Irish reveal that Goodman companies paid very lit- Farmers Journal sheds light for the fi rst time tle tax on hundreds of millions in profi ts. An Larry Goodman’s business empire has grown on the profi ts behind Ireland’s most secretive analysis carried out by the Irish Farmers Jour- far beyond its roots in beef processing. Today, beef baron. nal shows these companies, which generated Goodman is listed as a director in hundreds Accounts seen by the Irish Farmers Journal net profi ts of €182m last year, and paid less of mostly privately held companies. How- reveal a complex structure of privately owned than €300,000 in taxes. ever, the Goodman company of most inter- companies closely linked to Larry Goodman This would equate to an eff ective tax rate of est to farmers is the ABP Food Group, which and his ABP Food Group. These companies, only 0.3%, considerably less than the corpo- has grown to become one of the largest meat In the fi rst of a three-week which have no employees but provide fi - rate tax rate in Ireland of 12.5%. companies in Europe, with processing opera- nancing and loans to subsidiaries within the tions in Ireland, the UK and Poland. investigative series into the Goodman group, are located throughout Eu- ABP controls circa 20% of the Irish ca le ABP Food Group, the Irish rope in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Jersey kill, processing circa 300,000 ca le per an- and Liechtenstein. Effective num. In the UK, ABP controls circa 15% of the Farmers Journal reveals the Up to now, there was very li le visibility tax rate ca le kill, processing circa 400,000 head. In extent of Larry Goodman’s into the corporate structure of the Goodman 0.3% recent years, ABP acquired a 50% sharehold- fi nancial wealth. group. ing in Slaney Foods and has also taken a 50% However, changes within the group over stake in Northern Ireland meat processor Lorcan Allen and Eoin the past year have partially lifted the veil of Luxembourg Linden Foods. ABP has also taken full control Lowry report secrecy surrounding Goodman’s business Five companies close to the top of the Good- of Good Herdsmen, Ireland’s largest organic empire. New accounts show 12 key compa- man group (Silverbirch, KH Holdings, Par- meat processor. nies (see diagram) within the group reported lesse, Aburg and Ashtree Investments), which Earlier this year, Goodman took full control combined profi ts of more than €182m in 2018. are all registered in Luxembourg, have assets of C&D Foods after acquiring the remaining The reason chinks of visibility are suddenly of almost €2.7bn and recorded profi ts of close shares in the company from Philip Reynolds. appearing in Larry Goodman’s business em- to €94m last year. C&D Foods is a €500m turnover pet food busi- pire may be down to tax. For many years, the Last year, two of these companies, Aburg ness and the largest private-label pet food majority of Goodman controlled companies and KH Holdings, moved their residency from manufacturer in Europe with manufactur- have been registered in Jersey, the largest of Jersey to Luxembourg. Additionally, almost ing operations in Ireland, the UK, Denmark, the Channel Islands well known for its low tax every company within the Goodman group France, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain. regime and fi nancial secrecy. has changed its fi nancial year-end over the Goodman also has signifi cant investments However, in the last number of years, a past year. In 2017, legislation was introduced in healthcare and has shareholdings in Black- number of important entities in the Good- which will require unlimited companies to rock clinic, the Hermitage hospital and the man business empire have migrated their show greater visibility. Galway clinic. He also has signifi cant property headquarters to Luxembourg, which is now There are seven other companies within the interests, including Miesian Plaza, which he seen as the most tax-a ractive member state Goodman group that provide visibility into acquired from Bank of Ireland. IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 6 July 2019 BUSINESS OF FARMING 21
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Eoin Lowry (01) 4199500 [email protected] AgriBusiness @FJAgribiz
Ashtree Woodhaven Investments Jersey Luxembourg Arlesse Portlon Trust Ireland Liechtenstein
Ebolowa Ireland
Seabury Unlimited Jersey
Mile Sabena group Foundation Jersey Liechtenstein
Silverbirch Investments SA Breccia (formerly Parma Invest- Ireland ments SA), Luxembourg Rabena Aburg Parma Investments SA Parlesse Investments BV Foundation Luxembourg SA Luxembourg Netherlands Liechtenstein
Kanev BV Blackrock Clinic Netherlands Ireland
Parma Developments Galway Clinic Setanta Centre Irish Address Ireland Unlimited Jersey Hermitage Medical Clinic KH Holdings SA Ireland Kalvec Ltd Luxembourg Jersey Parma Investments Parma Limited Managements Services UK Ireland
Larry the Sabena Foundation and the Portlon Goodman’s Trust. business Addresses for these entities show they empire are all based in Vaduz, the capital city of Goodman web: Liechtenstein. Based on these addresses, the Irish Farmers Journal recently travelled to Vaduz in Liechtenstein to uncover what exactly they are. The address for the Sabena Foundation and the Portlon Trust lead to the offi ces from Louth to of a law fi rm called Marxer & Partner. Similarly, the address provided for the Rabena Foundation leads to the offi ces of a separate law fi rm called In the second part of a Kaiser & Partners. Liechtenstein Who ultimately owns these three three-week investigative entities and what purpose they serve series into the ABP Food he Irish Farmers Journal has which is located between Switzerland is not exactly clear. This is where the learned of another layer to and Austria and is well-known for its visibility ends in the Goodman group Group, Lorcan Allen travels the Goodman business empire fi nancial secrecy. as entities based in Liechtenstein are to Liechtenstein to uncover a based in Liechtenstein. Time and time again, documents not required to fi le any public doc- number of entities connected Three entities based in Vaduz, for companies connected to Larry uments. It is noteworthy, however, the capital of Liechtenstein, appear very Goodman point to three enti- that numerous documents fi led to Larry Goodman T close to the top of the Goodman empire. ties based in Liechtenstein; for companies within the Good- Liechtenstein is a small principality, the Rabena Foundation, man group list their ultimate IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 13 July 2019 AGRIBUSINESS 15
Aryzta Origin Ent £0.8996 MAIN +10% +4% +3% +2% €0.96 €5.04 US$1.1243 MOVERS €1=on 10/07/2019 Donegal IG FBD Holdings Greencore Kerry Group -2% -3% €10.60 €8.72 £2.25 €107.30
Vevan Unlimited Anglo Beef Producers Ireland UK New Meat Glyde Group Division Holdings Unlimited Oriel UKP Unlimited Jersey Limited Jersey Jersey
ABP Food Group Unlimited Jersey Lorsden Fane Jersey Unlimited Jersey ABP Food Group Ireland
Ternary Ltd Ireland
Tubriz Ireland Whiterath Unlimited Jersey
Ven Air Ireland
Glydee Limited Jersey
A number of entities in the Goodman group lead to the offi es of ar er artner a u e tenste n controlling party as “the Goodman Fam- equities, healthcare and other sectors. remains the ABP Food Group – one of called Fane Unlimited is the main parent ily Trusts”. In healthcare, privately held Goodman the big three beef processors in Ireland. company of ABP in Ireland. Whether these three entities in Liech- companies hold shareholdings in the ABP operates meat processing plants Above Fane Unlimited is an entity in tenstein are the Goodman Family Trusts Blackrock Clinic, the Hermitage Medi- in Ireland, the UK and Poland and has an Jersey known as Whiterath Unlimited, referred to is not clear. cal Clinic and the Galway Clinic. annual turnover of approx. €3bn. which in turn is controlled by another Regardless, the complexity of the cor- He also has signifi cant property inter- The company has 11,000 staff employed Jersey entity known as ABP Food Group VIDEO ONLINE porate structure behind the ABP Group ests, including the Setanta Centre in Dub- across its various sites and buys ca¢ le Unlimited. This labyrinth of holding com- watch the video on leading all the way to Liechtenstein gives lin 2, as well as a €21m stake in Green Reit, and sheep from 35,000 farmer suppli- panies based in Jersey continues until it ifj.ie/video an insight into the lack of transparency the listed property investment company. ers every year. eventually connects to other companies in the Goodman empire. Goodman also holds signifi cant invest- In recent years, ABP has taken a 50% based in the UK, the Netherlands and Lux- ments in companies such as IPL Plastics stake in Slaney Foods in Wexford and has embourg. Goodman Group (formerly One51) and recently made an also taken a 50% stake in Linden Foods As revealed in last week’s Irish Farmers €800,000 profi t from the sale of his 2% in Northern Ireland. Connection Journal, Larry Goodman has built a busi- stake in Independent News & Media for The company also took full control of The companies based in the Netherlands ness and investment empire around him €3.1m. Good Herdsmen, Ireland’s largest organic and Luxembourg that are connected to valued at close to €4bn. The Louth native also owns Miesian meat processor, as well as full control of ABP are the same companies the Irish From fi nancial accounts the Irish Farm- Plaza, which he acquired from Bank of C&D Foods, a €500m turnover pet food Farmers Journal revealed last week as key ers Journal has visibility of, the Goodman Ireland in 2013. business and the largest private-label pet cogs in the Goodman empire, providing group made profi ts of €182m last year and Miesian Plaza is now home to the De- food manufacturer in Europe. fi nancing and loans to subsidiary com- paid less than €300,000 in taxes on these partment of Health, which is understood While Larry Goodman is very much the panies within the group. However, from the Irish Farmers Journal profi ts – an eff ective tax rate of just 0.3%. to make Goodman one of the largest re- face of ABP, the ownership structure be- NEXT WEEK Coming from humble beginnings in cipients of rent from the Irish State. hind the company paints a complex pic- investigation the three entities in Liech- We conclude our the beef trade, Goodman is one of Ire- ture (as illustrated in the above graphic). tenstein appear to be very close to the series on the land’s wealthiest private individuals to- ABP Food Group Documents fi led with the companies top of the corporate structure behind Goodman empire day and has investments in property, However, the face of the Goodman group offi ce (CRO) show an entity based in Jersey the Goodman group. IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL 20 AGRIBUSINESS Saturday 16 May 2020
Lorcan Allen (01) 4199500 [email protected] AgriBusiness @FJAgribiz Divisions emerge within Kerry Co-op board over negotiations with plc
dom over recent weeks have LORCAN ALLEN suggested Kerry Group and AGRIBUSINESS EDITOR Kerry Co-op are looking at a [email protected] EXCLUSIVE potential deal where the co-op 1.2bnlitres of milk processed by would buy a significant share- Kerry every year Divisions have emerged within holding in Kerry Group’s pri- the farmer board of Kerry Co- mary dairy business here in Ire- op over the recent arbitration land. This would effectively see ruling on Kerry Group’s ‘lead- Kerry Co-op return to being a ing milk price’ as well as on the trading co-op. future direction of the co-op. €20m While no official details of annual profit from Kerry’s The Irish Farmers Journal dairy business this deal have emerged, sources has seen a copy of an email say it could be similar in na- leer sent by Kerry Co-op di- ture to the Glanbia Ireland rector Seamus Crawford from model where the business is east Limerick to the rest of the jointly owned by the farmers co-op board, where he states and Glanbia plc. he is very “concerned and dis- €700m Only a small number of Turnover of Kerry’s primary illusioned” with the way the dairy business people are privy to the de- co-op has handled the negotia- Kerry processed about 1.2bn litres of milk last year making it one of the ‘big four’ milk tails of these ongoing ne- tions with Kerry Group follow- processors in the country. \ Philip Doyle gotiations and Mr Crawford ing the arbitration ruling on tiveness of Kerry Co-op’s ‘lead- expressed a concern that the the contentious ‘leading milk ing milk price’ sub-commiee, main board were not up to price’ issue. cussion that should have taken of money owed to milk sup- board held public meetings, which negotiated a 3c/l good- date with what is happening “As can be seen following ex- place, which was on what way pliers,” stated Crawford in his one of which I aended in will payment from Kerry Group in the discussions. However, amination of the Arbitration and when the plc [Kerry Group] leer to the co-op board. Limerick where Dan O’Connor in December last year. the main board of Kerry Co-op Report there was only one dis- would pay the huge amount “After arbitration we as a informed the meeting on the “Some members of the sub- did a hold a meeting this week. details of winning arbitration. commiee seem to think this “It worries me that Kerry plc The take-home message for the was great money to get but re- are trying to walk us into a sit- board that night was that milk member this was only our own uation like Glanbia Ireland, a suppliers wanted us to go and money we were geing back,” joint venture with Glanbia Co- get what was owed to them. It he stated. Crawford added that op and Glanbia plc where the is very frustrating that Kerry the “dogs on the street” knew revenue in the co-op has to be plc try and bully their way at this goodwill payment was used to prop up milk price to Big Money every opportunity,” he went coming as Kerry Group was the boom of the milk league,” on to say. seeking the co-op’s support said Crawford. for the potential deal with Speaking to the Irish Farm- for planting Obligation DuPont. ers Journal, Kerry Co-op chief “My reading of the situation at It’s not clear how much sup- executive Thomas Hunter this stage is that the plc [Kerry port Crawford has within the McGowan said negotiations Group] are trying to trick their board of Kerry Co-op, but the between the co-op and Kerry Native way out of this obligation as Irish Farmers Journal under- Group were entering an ‘im- they have been doing for the stands there is a definite co- portant phase’. last nine years,” said Crawford. hort of board members who “Our primary focus is on de- In the leer, Crawford said wish to go back into arbitra- livering the leading milk price Woodland the main board of Kerry Co- tion with Kerry Group to try to Kerry farmers. We’re look- op was not kept informed and get a higher milk price for ing at finding a mechanism to of the leading milk price ne- the last five years. resolve the leading milk price gotiations with Kerry Group problem. There’s been a lot of • Additional one o payment and that several promises of Kerry Co-op deal commentary about a possible WEF of €607 per acre. information being provided In his leer, Crawford also deal but it’s purely speculation. to the main board have since raises concerns about ongo- The Glanbia model wouldn’t been broken, even before the ing negotiations between Kerry be of interest to us because it • Draw an annual TAX FREE COVID-19 lockdown began. Co-op and Kerry Group over would be in conflict with deliv- Crawford added that he was the future relationship of both ering the leading milk price,” premium of up to €275/acre disappointed with the effec- entities. Noises from the King- said Hunter McGowan. for 15 years. What is Kerry Charleville and Newmarket. making cheese and • You can plant & retain The main dairy products casein is then further pro- Group’s primary produced by the business cessed into demineralised your BPS payment. dairy business? are casein and cheddar. whey, which Kerry Group Kerry Group’s primary dairy Indeed, about one-third of sells to infant formula com- business is a €600m to all the milk collected by panies in Europe and Asia Contact our head €700m turnover business Kerry Group is processed as well as using in it in its that has a profit margin of into rennet casein, making Charleville infant formula 2% to 3% per year, mean- it one of the largest casein plant. office on 021-4322870 ing it makes profits of €12m producers in the world. The final third of Ker- to €20m. Another third of Ker- ry’s milk pool is used for Kerry processed about ry’s milk supply is used to skimmed milk powder 1.2bn litres of milk last year produce up to 40,000t of (SMP) and a range of high- and has three primary dairy cheddar every year. value specialised protein theforestrycompany.ie plants in Ireland - Listowel, The whey left over from ingredients.